America’s bargain-hunting habits: What shoppers will and won’t do to save a buck

Yonkers, NY - You might already be a pretty shopping-savvy saver, and we’re not encouraging you to become a crazy-coupon lady, but there’s no reason you can’t save even more by checking out the lengths to which other bargain-hungry shoppers will (or won’t) go for a great deal.

Americans will go to great lengths to save, according to our national survey, in which we asked 1,021 women about their bargain-hunting habits.

The percentage of women looking to save has increased in recent years: Today, 83 percent say they’re a bargain shopper, up from 76 percent in 2011. And only 1 percent of women today say they aren’t sure whether they are deal seekers.

Some other figures that jump out from the survey:

23 percent sometimes buy things they don’t need just because they’re on sale, while 32 percent show great restraint and never make such purchases.

36 percent feel guilty when they pay full price.

47 percent share news of their great deal with family and close friends, 35 percent tell anyone who will listen, and 10 percent keep it to themselves.

59 percent wait for a sale to buy what they want.

77 percent rarely or never regret buying a sale item.

80 percent say they’d look for a sale even if money were no object.

You’ll find more details from the survey below, including information on coupons and haggling.

Editor’s Note: In December 2013, the Consumer Reports National Research Center conducted a nationally representative phone survey to assess the bargain-hunting habits of 1,021 adult female U.S. consumers. Consumers were asked about their motivation for bargain shopping, techniques they use to get a great deal, and post-bargain shopping behavior. This article was adapted from the May 2014 issue of ShopSmartmagazine.